[K2k]

I'm looking for a way to wirelessly send the Sky+ signal upstairs.

I've considered multiroom, but the room I am sending to doesn't have a tv near any of the outside walls and it seems very expensive as we never watch Sky in separate rooms.

In the past I've used one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikkai-A31JL.../dp/B003KVMYA0, however the units never stay in the same place and it's very difficult to get a signal. They are very light and get knocked over by cats, etc and need a lot of adjusting and running up and down the stairs.

I also tried a Slingbox, however the delay when changing channels is quite bad if you want to flick.

My PS4 is able to stream games upstairs to my Playstation TV ok, so I know it must be possible with some sort of technology.

Does anyone have any experience with any foolproof or easy to set up wireless video senders, SCART or HDMI?

I don't mind if they cost a bit if they have a strong signal.

[Chris Frost]

There are HD equivalents of your old wireless TV sender. They'll stream the HD signal from Sky, but not all will maintain it at the 1080i HD signal quality. Cheaper units resample the picture and introduce some noise in the process. Whether you see that very much depends on the size of TV you're watching and the distance you're watching from. Transmission distance and the structure of your building make a big difference to range and resolution too. The best you can do is 'buy and try' but do be prepared for some hassle finding the right product.

You mentioned "strong signal". The transmission power of these things is limited by Law to avoid interference with other products in the free-to-use wireless bands. So there's no "standard power / high power" options. The differences in signal strength are down to how many corners the manufacturer cut with the design.

If it was me, I'd look at the cost of wireless HD HDMI senders (£130~£250); and the fact that the cheap ones compress the signal; and the hit-n-miss nature of wireless transmitters, and then I'd seriously consider putting in a long HDMI cable. Ultimately that will work a damned sight more reliably and with no compression at all. If the bedroom is above the living room then a 15 or 20 metre cable would probably suffice. Add an aerial coax from Sky RF2 and a magic eye kit and you'll have IR control as well as Freeview to the TV if not already wired. If you're DIY'ing then the total cost could come in well under £60. If you have to bbuy in the services of an electrician then it will still work out cheaper than the 'better' grade of wireless sender.

[K2k]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the two rooms are at opposite ends of my house, so it's not as easy as running the cable through the floor or wall. I'll have to buy some wireless HD senders and take them back if they don't work.

[Deacon1972]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K2k

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the two rooms are at opposite ends of my house, so it's not as easy as running the cable through the floor or wall. I'll have to buy some wireless HD senders and take them back if they don't work.

Could you not run the cable outside the house to the other room, it would need to be protected from the elements. I did this at a friends house, used a 30m high speed cable and placed it 20mm PVC tubing, this was over 18months ago and has worked perfectly ever since.

[Chris Frost]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K2k

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately the two rooms are at opposite ends of my house, so it's not as easy as running the cable through the floor or wall. I'll have to buy some wireless HD senders and take them back if they don't work.

Given the locations of the two rooms and the fact that you're going through the entire building then I think you're really going to struggle with video senders. If you still have the Nikkais then give them a go. But if they don't work then there's very little chance that HD versions from whatever make will do any better. The signal power just dissipates too much with distance; and unlike your Playstation TV, there's no buffering memory to help cope with breaks in transmission.

If you want to get a solution that will work over longer distances than wireless or long HDMI will support then you're looking at using baluns with a pair of Cat6 cables. Use outdoor grade cable. Come out of the lounge, up the exterior wall, in to the eaves, across the loft and then out the other side, down the wall and in to the bedroom.

[idlewilde]

Those Nikkai ones are rubbish. I use the Provision HD Wi-Fi sender to forward the signal from the Sky HD box in my study downstairs up to the bedroom and it's been superb.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Provision-Wi...less+hd+sender

[oilman]

I know you said a sling box is too slow to change channels, and I tend to agree with you, as I have one as well but you could use a harmony hub to change channels which should be virtually the same as using a remote. The slingbox stream should change as fast as you flick (albeit there might be a delay of a second or so when you start changing).


http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&k...l_2lg4m8p6v6_b

Out of interest, how do you send slingbox output wirelessly to other TV ? I assume you have something like a ROKU or Chromecast?

[K2k]

I used a Boxee with my Slingbox and it worked quite well as long as you don't need to change the channels.

I did use an IR sender, so there was no delay in changing channels downstairs, but the video was sometimes 3-5 seconds behind, which isn't good if you are trying to use the on screen guide.

Regarding the wireless Sky senders, I think my main concern is that the Nikkai ones aren't exactly the best, they are dirt cheap and require a lot of manual adjusting. I would like to think there may be better models out there!

I'm going to have a look at the Provision ones, although at £225 I need to make sure I can return them if they don't work!

[chrisjr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K2k

I used a Boxee with my Slingbox and it worked quite well as long as you don't need to change the channels.

I did use an IR sender, so there was no delay in changing channels downstairs, but the video was sometimes 3-5 seconds behind, which isn't good if you are trying to use the on screen guide.

Regarding the wireless Sky senders, I think my main concern is that the Nikkai ones aren't exactly the best, they are dirt cheap and require a lot of manual adjusting. I would like to think there may be better models out there!

I'm going to have a look at the Provision ones, although at £225 I need to make sure I can return them if they don't work!

The only downside I can see with the Provision kit is that it uses the 5GHz band. This may have a more limited range compared to the 2.4GHz band, especially if there are lots of walls and floors between transmitter and receiver. Conversely it may suffer less interference from WiFi networks etc than 2.4GHz.

I also see it has a loopthrough feature on the HDMI which some similar kit doesn't have. Saves on having to buy a HDMI splitter so that you can feed both the sender and the TV next to the Sky box.